Aging population fuels largest, longest waiting list for Lifescape's Meals on Wheels program

Friday

Feb 14, 2014 at 11:49 AMFeb 16, 2014 at 12:50 AM

By Corina CurryRockford Register Star

ROCKFORD - An aging population and a tight budget have produced the longest waiting list for Meals on Wheels that Lifescape Community Services has seen in 20 years.

At last count, 149 Winnebago County residents are on that list. Some have been there since August.

They've been assessed. They qualify for the meal. They just can't get it.

There's no new money coming in, Lifescape officials said. In fact, they're dealing with a $40,000 cut in money from the federal government this year. Meanwhile, annual food costs have risen $100,000.

"One of the saddest things that can ever happen to you is when an old lady calls you and tells you how badly she needs the meals. That she's got cancer, and she's telling you how difficult it is for her," CEO Carol Green said. "And you have no choice but to say, 'I'm sorry.' ... It's a very heartbreaking and difficult situation."

The agency had a similar influx of new clients in 2009, but that list was shorter - about 100 people - and everyone was off of it in about nine months, Green said.

There's something more ominous about this year's waiting list.

At seven months, it continues to grow. The only way someone can get off is through attrition, meaning you move away, move into a nursing home or die.

But the older population is living longer and healthier. In 2011, the U.S. Census Bureau identified 90-and-older as the fastest-growing age group in the country.

For Lifescape, it means no clear end to its waiting list.

Get a meal, eat a meal

Lifescape spends $1.3 million a year on Meals on Wheels. More than half comes from federal and state governments. The rest is a combination of United Way contributions, senior tax levies in Ogle and Lee counties, meal donations and fundraising.

Full-price meals, which anyone can get, with delivery are available ?for $7.50 each.

Meals on Wheels clients can make a donation to help cover the cost of their meals. A suggested donation is given to each client based on income level. Federal rules prohibit charging, however, so recipients do not have to make a donation to receive their meals.

Lifescape delivered 207,000 meals from October 2012 to September 2013, collecting $170,000 in meal donations.

Seniors qualify for the program based on age, and medical and mobility needs.

Food subsidies or rides to the grocery or food pantry don't necessarily help. Cooking has become burdensome. Absent a fresh, hot, delivered meal, some seniors will develop poor eating habits, such as consuming nothing but soup and crackers for days. Or they'll spend money they don't have to eat healthy.

"We run a delicate balancing act," said Scott Blank, Lifescape's food and nutrition director. "You want to cut as much cost as you can on the food side but stay committed to serving nutritious foods. ... It has to taste good, too. Our No. 1 priority is they get a meal and they eat a meal."

A godsend

Meals on Wheels program serves 1,900 seniors in Winnebago, Boone, Ogle and Lee counties. Clients get one to 10 meals a week, based on need. There's one hot meal each weekday; those who need more get a sack lunch, too. Those who need meals on the weekends get extra meals delivered on Fridays.

Meals run the gamut from creamy chicken and pasta with Italian veggies to country meatballs, mashed potatoes and carrots.

Ed Stackowicz, 94, of Rockford said the meatballs are one of his favorite meals.

He has been getting Meals on Wheels for several years. He gets a meal a day, five days a week.

"It's a godsend," he said.

Without them, the retired furniture maker probably would have to go to the store more and spend more money on groceries. That would be difficult, he said, because he no longer drives.

Stackowicz has become a whiz at making his one delivered meal last a full day. He saves leftover veggies to make soup. He saves fruit to put in his cereal the next morning.

"I get all of this stuff and all of the vitamins. Apparently, that's what's keeping the old man alive."

Social and safety benefits of Meals on Wheels can become just as important as the food.

For some seniors, the delivery driver is the only person they see all day, the only person to ask how they're doing, the only human voice they hear.

Stackowicz calls his driver "his buddy."

Larry Pearson and Stackowicz like to talk about sports, the weather and current events.

"I look forward to getting here every day and having a chat," Pearson said. "All of my grandparents are gone, so Ed is kind of a replacement for me."

Most of Pearson's clients spend the majority of their time in their homes, he said. He enjoys being a ray of sunshine in their lives.

"Some of them don't get a lot of visitors. If they don't come to the door, I'm on the radio to Lifescape. They'll try to call. If no one answers, they'll start calling emergency contacts."

Waiting is only choice

Letha Hill has been on the waiting list for five months. She has a heart condition, diabetes "and some other things."

"It's hard to find the right things to eat," the 67-year-old Rockfordian said. "I'm in a wheelchair and on a special diet. ... My son helps me a lot. He takes me to the store and fixes my meals."

All she can do is wait. "I don't have any other choice."

Of the 149 people on Lifescape's waiting list, 52 percent live in high-poverty ZIP codes. Sixty-nine percent are 80 or older. Twenty-six percent are between the ages of 70 and 80.

According to a November 2011 Census Bureau report, the nation's 90-and-older population tripled in the past three decades.

Feeding America and the National Foundation to End Senior Hunger say 1 in every 12 seniors older than 60 was food insecure in 2011. That adds up to 4.8 million seniors, more than double the number of food-insecure seniors in 2001.

'Aging at home'

Lifescape's budgets have been stagnant, stressed or slashed.

State payments that lingered at a five- or six-month delay in the beginning of 2013 created a $482,000 operating deficit for the first part of the year. By September, the state was paying within 60 days.

It's been one of few factors that has helped the agency stay afloat.

"The last five years have been like a roller coaster," Green said. "It started in 2009. That's when the stock market started to get bad. We lost a lot of donations. The cost of gas went up. We lost a lot of volunteers. Our delivery costs went up. The cost of our food went up."

It's particularly frustrating for Green and Chief Operating Officer Mike Hughes, who want to see seniors live well and independently for as long as possible.

"We have an aging population that is aging at home. That's what we're about," Hughes said. "It's better for our clients, and it's cheaper in the long term and in the short term."

According to AssistedLivingFacilities.org, the average monthly cost of assisted living in Illinois is $3,100; the range is $1,600 to $6,700.

A new way to help

Lifescape will celebrate 75 years of operation in May, and leaders are planning a fundraiser that would kick-start an endowment fund. The money would eliminate the waiting list for meals.

Meals on Wheels agencies across the state have created similar endowment funds and charitable foundations to help absorb new clients.

According to the Illinois Department on Aging, many nutrition service providers have established waiting lists as demand for home-delivered meals exceeds federal, state and local resources.

A statewide survey shows 1,093 people on waiting lists as of November 2013, compared with 1,117 the year before.

"We think about this every day here," Hughes said. "We came up with the endowment. ... Now we need the vehicle to fund it."

They want to do something fun that will attract a crowd, something involving Rockford restaurants. They're calling it Rockford's Best Dish.